Why Rafah, Gaza’s lifeline, is important as Israel plans assault

“It is impossible to complete the victory (against Hamas) without the Israel Defense Forces entering Rafah,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden on March 20. The specific mention of Rafah by the Israeli Prime Minister attests to the importance the region holds in the context of the war against Hamas, both geographically and strategically.

Now, nearly a month since the phone call with Biden, Israel is set to launch a ground offensive in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city and a lifeline for its people.

With Israel setting its sights on “completely eliminating” Hamas, Rafah is the last bastion of the Palestinian militant outfit in the Gaza Strip. Rafah is home to four Hamas combat battalions and Israel has vowed to destroy the holdouts after successes in the north and centre of the Gaza Strip.

The war, which began in October 2023, has already pushed around a million displaced Gazan civilians into Rafah. A further assault in the southern city will only worsen the humanitarian crisis, the United States has warned.

WHERE IS RAFAH LOCATED?

The Gaza Strip, a narrow 41-km Palestinian territory, is situated along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It is surrounded by Israel in the north and east. It shares its border with Egypt in the south.

To be precise, Rafah is located along the 12 km border that divides the Gaza Strip from Egypt.

For the two million people residing in Gaza, there are three main entry and exit points — the Erez crossing in the north, and the Rafah crossing in the south. In the south of Gaza, there is also the Karem Abu Salem goods crossing.

The Erez crossing is managed by Israel while Rafah, a vast territory of mountains and desert, is controlled by Egypt.

With Israel also controlling Gaza’s airspace and territorial waters, Rafah is the only crossing that isn’t directly controlled by Israel.

The third crossing, the Karem Abu Salem point, is at the junction between Gaza, Israel and Egypt. It is also under Israel’s control but is exclusively for the movement of commercial goods. Israel reportedly has a military base in Karem Abu Salem through which it monitors all activity in southern Gaza.

WHY IS RAFAH SO SIGNIFICANT FOR GAZA?

The Rafah crossing is the primary exit point for people from Gaza. It serves as a vital link between Gaza, often labelled as the “world’s biggest open-air prison”, and the world.

The Rafah crossing is under Egyptian control as per a 2007 agreement with Israel.

The border is Gaza’s lifeline as goods and humanitarian aid cross through Rafah after Israel imposed a land, sea and air blockade on the Gaza Strip in 2007.

It is the only place through which Gaza people get access to essential items like fuel, cooking gas, medicine and construction materials from Egypt.

However, the crossing remains shut for most days of the year. Even then, despite not being controlled by Israel, crossing the Rafah border is easier said than done.

Palestinians have to first register with the local authorities, mostly aligned with Hamas, two to four weeks in advance. Even then, a large chunk of applications is rejected by either the Palestinian or Egyptian officials.

In the early days of the war, airstrikes by Israel had left the crossing in tatters. However, it was opened a month later and since then limited evacuations have been allowed following a deal mediated by Qatar between Egypt, Israel and Hamas. Several NGO members and passport holders have escaped the war from the Gaza Strip through this crossing.